COLUMBUS – Following a week in which at least 56 Ohioans were shot, including 17 people who were killed, Gov. Mike DeWine used his televised coronavirus briefing to again call on lawmakers to take up a package of legislation aimed at address curbing gun violence.
The legislation would get tougher on those who have committed a crime with a gun and are likely to re-offend, increases penalties for those found carrying a weapon if they are legally prohibited from doing so and for knowingly providing a gun to a minor or to someone who is legally prohibited from owning a firearm.
“This is something that I don’t think is controversial. These are people who are not allowed to have a gun, DeWine said.
The legislation would also require that warrants on dangerous, wanted offenders are entered into law enforcement databases so officers have the information needed to arrest those who have committed violent crimes, he said.
Among the violent incidents that occurred in Ohio over the previous week was a series of seven shootings in Cincinnati that left 20 people shot, four fatally, Sunday, and one in which an 8-year-old girl was killed during a backyard birthday party for a teenager at an Akron home August 14.